Meet the Artist: Alice Pattullo

The artist behind our latest seasonal postcard, Alice Pattullo, is known for her beautifully composed prints and love of vintage-inspired design. Here, she shares her journey into illustration, the inspirations behind her work, and the creative process that brings her intricate compositions to life.

Can you tell us a little about your creative journey? How did you first fall in love with illustration and printmaking?

I was encouraged to read from a very young age, so I suppose, like most children, my first exposure to illustration was through picture books, both those contemporary to my own childhood and ones my parents bought simply for their visual beauty. (Which is something I still do now - for someone without children, I probably have far too many picture books on my shelves!)

Both of my parents are creative, so I was always surrounded by art, galleries, and prints. Drawing and painting were second nature to me from an early age, so rather than a moment of discovery, it felt more like a gradual, almost inevitable, path into a creative industry. I went on to study illustration at Brighton University, inspired in part by seeing a retrospective exhibition of Shirley Hughes’ work, particularly her sketchbooks. Even though my own work took a very different direction, I remember thinking: I want to do that! Before that, I had always assumed I would study textiles or surface design. My love of screen printing came about through an obsession with 1950s clothing - I practically lived in 50’s printed dresses as a student. That led me to explore print designers from the era, like Lucienne Day, and then artists such as Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, Barbara Jones, and Enid Marx, whose work I still return to for inspiration. I’ve always been drawn to limited colour palettes, something I started experimenting with as a student, and which naturally lends itself to screen printing. I’m also quite impatient, so screen printing appealed to me as a process where you can see results fairly quickly (though Photoshop has since taken over somewhat!).

Like a lot of artists, I love groupings and multiples of objects - collections, lists (which are, after all, a collection of words), and things like educational charts or catalogues that bring a sense of order to them. When I looked through the images of the collection, I instinctively felt it would work well as a gathering of objects, like a page from an old catalogue.

I have several facsimile copies of old Sears and Roebuck catalogues, which I love—back when everything available to buy was drawn rather than photographed. I suppose this illustration is my own version of that, but for Rowen & Wren. We explored a few colour options and settled on a soft blue that appeared in several of the products, giving it a light, fresh feel for spring.

How did you bring the design to life? Can you tell us about the techniques and materials you used?

I always start in black and white, then introduce colour digitally to create the feel of a screen print. If I’m making a limited edition of my own work, I’ll use those black-and-white drawings to compose the layers for screen printing.

For line work, I use black Indian ink and a fine brush, then build up texture and marks with acrylic and scruffy dry brushes. I also paint additional textures on separate pages, which I then cut out and collage into the drawing. Sometimes, I work back into the image with white Indian ink or chinagraph pencils to add depth.

Looking back, what’s been a standout moment in your career so far?

I’ve been very lucky to work on several commissions for Fortnum & Mason packaging, which I still get such a kick out of. They truly champion illustration in their designs, so it’s a delight to see my work sitting alongside so many great artists who have worked with them over the years.

I’d love to carve out more time for my own work - it’s been a while since I produced a new series of prints, and I have so many ideas bubbling away that I need to get down on paper.

I’m also working on a long-term (at least by illustration standards!) project with Bromley Council, creating printed murals for their children’s libraries as part of a borough-wide regeneration scheme. Each mural reflects the culture, history, and architecture of the local area. Some have already been installed and opened, while others are completed but waiting for their respective libraries to reopen—I can’t wait to see them finally up on the walls!

Finally, what are you most looking forward to this spring?

Sun! And Cadbury’s Mini Eggs.

Alice’s delightful postcard is tucked inside each parcel we send out throughout the coming season. To explore our Spring Collection please click here. To see more of Alice’s work, you can click here.